


Unexpected Side Effects

by killerweasel



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-12
Updated: 2013-08-12
Packaged: 2017-12-23 05:41:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/922656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killerweasel/pseuds/killerweasel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are unexpected side effects from Drifting with the Kaiju.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unexpected Side Effects

Title: Unexpected Side Effects  
Fandom: _Pacific Rim_  
Characters: Hermann Gottlieb, Hannibal Chau, Newton Geiszler  
Word Count: 1,004  
Rating: PG-13  
A/N: AU after the events of _Pacific Rim_  
Warnings: n/a  
Summary: There are unexpected side effects from Drifting with the Kaiju.

A noise in the doorway caused Hermann to look up from the notes he was frantically scribbling. A large man staggered inside. Judging by his expensive suit, he wasn’t one of the celebrating Shatterdome crew members. He was also missing a shoe. Hermann stared at the socked foot for a moment. It suddenly dawned on him who he was staring at. As the man moved across the room, Hermann was hit with the familiar stench of Kaiju guts.

“Where is he?” The remaining shoe jingled as he made his way over to where Hermann was sitting. Now that he was closer, Hermann could see bits of the suit had been eaten away by what appeared to be acid. The rest was splattered with bits of gore. “Where’s that little pain in the ass? I know he stole my damn shoe, though I have no idea why. One of my guys saw him take off with it.”

“You’re Hannibal Chau.” Hermann winced as a series of memories that didn’t belong to him rose to the surface. He concentrated on sorting through them before shoving them back down again. “I’m Dr. Hermann Gottlieb. Newton is not here right now. He said something about ‘filling in a blank patch now that he helped save the world’. You can have a seat and wait for him if you want.”

Hermann fought the urge to gag as Hannibal came to a stop next to the table. “Actually, you should probably take a shower first. Otherwise what you’ve been splattered with will continue to eat through your clothing and into your skin. There’s no one else on this end of the building, so you shouldn’t be bothered. They’re all continuing to celebrate.” He gestured toward a door behind him. “There should be something you can change into in there too. Newton might be a while longer.”

“If I’m still in there when he shows up, holler.” Hannibal suddenly looked as exhausted as Hermann felt. “It’s been one hell of a day, hasn’t it, Doc?”

“It certainly has.”

\---

About half an hour later, a freshly showered Hannibal sat down across from Hermann. Hermann finished scribbling another page of notes to type up later and set them to the side. He could feel Hannibal staring at him, looking him over, and probably judging what he saw.

“We’ve never met, have we, Doc?” Hermann shook his head. Hannibal frowned as he focused on Hermann’s face, particularly his bloodshot left eye. “Oh hell, you did it too? I thought he was the only one stupid enough to Drift with a damn alien.”

Hermann bristled a little, but he didn’t have the energy to get into a pissing match with the most powerful black market Kaiju part dealer in Hong Kong. “It was a necessary risk to gain more information about the Kaiju. We were a bit short on time.” He paused as Hannibal pulled a knife out of his pocket and began cleaning his nails. “I was under the impression you were dead.”

“I cut my way out. It’ll take more than that to kill someone like me.” Hannibal frowned as a very peculiar look crossed Hermann’s face. “What?”

“Newton knows you’re with me, and he seems to think that you’re a member of the undead community. He just showed me the most disgusting set of images of zombies digging their way out of their graves set to music.” Hermann’s nose wrinkled in disgust. “I do hope it fades a little as time goes on. He has a very vivid imagination.”

Hermann reached down into the cooler by his feet and pulled two bottles of vodka out of it. He held one out to Hannibal. “Here, you look like you could use this. I know I can.”

“Doc, don’t take this the wrong way, but you two shouldn’t be able to do shit like that.” Hannibal took a few swallows from his bottle. “While I might not be an expert on Drifting, I do know a thing or two. He’s blocks away from here. He should be out of range.”

“I know that.” Hermann rubbed his temple with the heel of his hand. “But most people who Drift don’t do it with an alien brain that’s part of a hive mind. We’ve wandered into territory no one has researched before, and there could be all sorts of side effects in the future.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, occasionally taking a drink from their bottles. Hannibal sat back, removing his glasses. Hermann glanced at the damage to Hannibal’s eye, but said nothing. He’d seen far worse things since the start of the war with the Kaiju. When his bad leg began to ache, he shifted around in his chair.

“I’m curious, Doc. What’s it like having him in your brain? He certainly has the gift of gab, doesn’t he?”

“You have no idea. I’ve worked with the man for over ten years.” Hermann took a drink. “I feel like I have an overactive Jack Russell running around and around in my skull. He’s like a shark, he never stops moving. He can’t.” The smile on Hermann’s face was fond. “Newton’s unique.”

“How many times have I told you to call me Newt, Hermann?” Newt was standing in the doorway with a huge grin on his face. “Hannibal! You’re not dead. That’s great. Hermann, he’s not dead. I swear that baby Kaiju swallowed him in two bites. You probably want your shoe back, don’t you? I’ll go grab it. When I get back, you both need to see the new tattoo. It’s fantastic.” He took off into the hallway.

“You’re connected to that?” Hannibal shuddered. “I think I’d go insane.”

Hermann had been about to say something when Newton’s seemingly endless wave of babble flowed into his head. He barely had a chance to respond before the topic was shifted into something else. He felt Newton smile as the missing shoe was found. “Actually, I’m sure we’re going to be just fine.”


End file.
